Why do people say that the British didn't do a thing in WW2?

[Deimateos]

It's what people say when they have no idea what they're talking about. Last night, one my friends tried to claim that we (Americans) went and fought Hitler right off the bat, when anyone with even a cursory knowledge of history knows that we came in at the absolute ass end of that war. The problem is, most people today think "Hurp, I dn't kneed tu reed da book, I'll jus plei Call of Duty/Medal of Honor instead! Di-Derp-Derp!!!", so they go by the game's/movie's retelling of events (IE, America did everything!!11!1!|).

Kind of like if you watched Transformers to learn up on actual robotics or foreign military operations ("Ffffffuck, robots in r Egypt, call AMERICA!")

 

[Guvnorium]

this stuff really pisses me off. im british and get this all the time over xbox live from little american kids that know nothing(not a shot against americans, just these little shits, every country has them) yes, the americans did supply us weapons and give us loans, but who fought the war for the first 3 years? we went in because hitler was destroying europe and committing mass genecide. the americans went in because of pearl harbour. yes, we may not have won the war if the americans didnt come in but does anyone really think that america would still be in afganistan if we wernt there? (and we wernt 3 years late)

Once again, the fact that almost noone knew about the mass genocide must be brought up.

tell u what, have 6 million of your people killed, then comment

Uh...I didn't say it didn't happen. Just that at the time, almost no one knew it was happening.

i didnt say that they did, but we had our suspicions, you know, when millions of people went missing and europe was falling apart

Interesting... you were alive during World War Two? Or was someone you know alive then? Valid questions I think, based on the phrasing of your questions.

 

[DefunctTheory]

...and the vast majority of people involved in the D-Day landings were British, I'd say we did a fair fucking bit, thank you.

61,715 British soldiers took part in the D-Day landings. 2,700 casualties.
73,000 American soldiers took part in the D-Day landings. 6,603 casualties.

Both were practically even, with the American's edging out. British supplied more naval support. Check before you do EXACTLY what you're accusing the American's of doing.

 

[PrimoThePro]

Americans think they won the war. They joined with fresh troops when every other army was tired. They helped but in no way did they win the war by themselves. Arrogance at it's worst, my friends.

 

[Guvnorium]

Actually some germans helped the allies in the war effort against the Nazi's so let me give a rundown of what i know about each country.

America: Fashionably late as always, supplier and productive.

Russia; A massive help in war effortt, helped allies in pincer movement.

Engaland: took the brunt of the war mostly, constantly tying not to be out-flanked, created Colossus a computer that cracked all German codes.

France: Sabotage and guerill atactics, damaging infrastructure and attempted assasnations on main leaders.

Poland: First to fall, took alot of oppression helped in war with manpower.

So as you can see each country did alot and thats only a fraction of the allies.

As for your teacher get him an IQ test.

Didn't we already establish that 85% of the German army was attacking Russia?

 

[DefunctTheory]

Russia: A massive help in war effort, helped allies in pincer movement, took on the majority of German troops.

England: Took the brunt of the Western war mostly, constantly trying not to be out-flanked, created Colossus a computer that cracked all German codes.

I commend you on you're open mind and acceptance of the 'everyone helped' facts, but I had to fix those two. Nothing personal, was just bothering me.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

When you say the Russian's made the biggest sacrifices that's partially because their generals would just through men at a problem and also never really used tactics in the beginning, it worked for them but they did to the point were they would use tanks as battering rams to take out German tanks. Also in North Africa until the American's showed up it wasn't looking to good for the British there. Montgomery was a great general but when you are out number by one of the best generals of all time, Rommel who I consider the best or second best general of WWII until 1944 when he made some huge mistakes, Montgomery would have lost north africa by spring '43 if American hadn't sent a large influx of troops. Also The Americans also sent division after division into Europe after D-Day. The American's were, compared to the fairly battle warned Europe, and unlimited supply of men and material and without them the best England could have hoped for was the German's invasion to be thwarted at the beaches.

Completely wrong. I point to the battle of el Alamein was a wholly british and commonwealth affair and was the turning point of the war in north africa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein Enclosed is a history lesson. If you look at the maps, not a single American Europe. America didn't arrive in North Africa until the war there was all but over.

England stopped the Germans in the Battle of Britain, and yes, whilst there were some American Pilots in the RAF at the time, this is what prevented the invasion of Britain. Not American Intervention. What i will say is that any hopes of a counterattack in Europe would have been impossible without American aid and we would have had to endure more shortages without American supplies.
Really, as soon as Hitler launched Barbarossa the UK was pretty safe from invasion. I will always maintain that it was the Russians who won the war against Hitler, not the Americans.
Now, on to D-Day, the Americans forces nearly cost us that one on Omaha beach. By the time they had actually broken through the British, Canadian and French had already taken their day one objectives. We totally raped on D-Day.
As to British involvement in the Japanese theater, it does annoy me a little that we are forgotten here. I will agree it was the Americans who were responsible for the victory here, but we were fighting a constant delaying action against the japs from the start.

 

[Blanks]

And everyone forgets Canada, way to go guys

 

[dragonslayer32]

this stuff really pisses me off. im british and get this all the time over xbox live from little american kids that know nothing(not a shot against americans, just these little shits, every country has them) yes, the americans did supply us weapons and give us loans, but who fought the war for the first 3 years? we went in because hitler was destroying europe and committing mass genecide. the americans went in because of pearl harbour. yes, we may not have won the war if the americans didnt come in but does anyone really think that america would still be in afganistan if we wernt there? (and we wernt 3 years late)

Once again, the fact that almost noone knew about the mass genocide must be brought up.

tell u what, have 6 million of your people killed, then comment

Uh...I didn't say it didn't happen. Just that at the time, almost no one knew it was happening.

i didnt say that they did, but we had our suspicions, you know, when millions of people went missing and europe was falling apart

Interesting... you were alive during World War Two? Or was someone you know alive then? Valid questions I think, based on the phrasing of your questions.

i asked two questions, one of which was about afganistan, you know, a CURRENT war and the other was about who fought the war for the first 3 years. incase you are unaware, this was retorical, im pretty sure all of the people on this discussion know who fought it, the BRITISH did (and the french but they were more of a rebel force). Finally, yes, 2 of my great grandparents died fighting in that war. pointless deaths in my opinion as SOME people's ignorance of the matter is quite shocking.

 

[the idiot computer]

Actually some germans helped the allies in the war effort against the Nazi's so let me give a rundown of what i know about each country.

America: Fashionably late as always, supplier and productive.

Russia; A massive help in war effortt, helped allies in pincer movement.

Engaland: took the brunt of the war mostly, constantly tying not to be out-flanked, created Colossus a computer that cracked all German codes.

France: Sabotage and guerill atactics, damaging infrastructure and attempted assasnations on main leaders.

Poland: First to fall, took alot of oppression helped in war with manpower.

So as you can see each country did alot and thats only a fraction of the allies.

As for your teacher get him an IQ test.

Didn't we already establish that 85% of the German army was attacking Russia?

Actually there were Germans on the allie's side such as code breakers and navy and actual land fighting, i have to say it's arrogant to say all Germans were Nazis.

 

[Guvnorium]

Actually some germans helped the allies in the war effort against the Nazi's so let me give a rundown of what i know about each country.

America: Fashionably late as always, supplier and productive.

Russia; A massive help in war effortt, helped allies in pincer movement.

Engaland: took the brunt of the war mostly, constantly tying not to be out-flanked, created Colossus a computer that cracked all German codes.

France: Sabotage and guerill atactics, damaging infrastructure and attempted assasnations on main leaders.

Poland: First to fall, took alot of oppression helped in war with manpower.

So as you can see each country did alot and thats only a fraction of the allies.

As for your teacher get him an IQ test.

Didn't we already establish that 85% of the German army was attacking Russia?

Actually there were Germans on the allie's side such as code breakers and navy and actual land fighting, i have to say it's arrogant to say all Germans were Nazis.

I didn't, but I missed that in the quote I was quoting. Good catch.

 

[the idiot computer]

Russia: A massive help in war effort, helped allies in pincer movement, took on the majority of German troops.

England: Took the brunt of the Western war mostly, constantly trying not to be out-flanked, created Colossus a computer that cracked all German codes.

I commend you on you're open mind and acceptance of the 'everyone helped' facts, but I had to fix those two. Nothing personal, was just bothering me.

Alright then, thanks for compliment.

 

[i64ever]

If the US doesn't do as much against Germany as Russia does, its only because the US is fighting on two fronts. They single handedly defeat Japan and still supply most of the force behind the D-Day invasion, opening a second front in the war which Russia had asked us to do many, many times. Russia doesn't even declare war against Japan until after the A-Bomb is used.

Only the French did nothing.

 

[duchaked]

uhhh what the heck
I'm an American, and I was never taught the British did nothing and that the Americans did everything
I mean, America entered later, and before then the British successfully held off the Germans

I mean, if anyone it was the French who did nothing
(haha no I kid, there was the French resistance after their surrender)

....You mean the French right?

Of course Britain helped a huge deal in WW2 and no not every American history teacher treats it they way the OP's teacher did.

Edit: wait he is from Iceland so why is everyone blaming American teachers? America however is always the first to get blamed.

I also don't see why anyone should be bashing on any nation
I mean, the alliances back then were really quite amazing

just because we're ALL super egocentric douche bags nowadays...lolll

 

[Guvnorium]

this stuff really pisses me off. im british and get this all the time over xbox live from little american kids that know nothing(not a shot against americans, just these little shits, every country has them) yes, the americans did supply us weapons and give us loans, but who fought the war for the first 3 years? we went in because hitler was destroying europe and committing mass genecide. the americans went in because of pearl harbour. yes, we may not have won the war if the americans didnt come in but does anyone really think that america would still be in afganistan if we wernt there? (and we wernt 3 years late)

Once again, the fact that almost noone knew about the mass genocide must be brought up.

tell u what, have 6 million of your people killed, then comment

Uh...I didn't say it didn't happen. Just that at the time, almost no one knew it was happening.

i didnt say that they did, but we had our suspicions, you know, when millions of people went missing and europe was falling apart

Interesting... you were alive during World War Two? Or was someone you know alive then? Valid questions I think, based on the phrasing of your questions.

i asked two questions, one of which was about afganistan, you know, a CURRENT war and the other was about who fought the war for the first 3 years. incase you are unaware, this was retorical, im pretty sure all of the people on this discussion know who fought it, the BRITISH did (and the french but they were more of a rebel force). Finally, yes, 2 of my great grandparents died fighting in that war. pointless deaths in my opinion as SOME people's ignorance of the matter is quite shocking.

Okay. I was talking about he holocaust. Not Afghanistan. I think we had a miscommunicaion.

 

[Grampy_bone]

I had a pretty good history teacher; we learned all about the British struggles during the bombing of London, the extensive air campaign of the RAF, the African front, etc. He also talked about the use of propaganda during and post-war and how it has shaped American perception of the events.

The idea that America charged in and single-handedly saved the day is pretty much bogus. Russia was going to beat Germany with or without our help. That's a fact. What we did primarily was prevent all of mainland Europe from becoming a part of the Soviet Union.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Now, on to D-Day, the Americans forces nearly cost us that one on Omaha beach. By the time they had actually broken through the British, Canadian and French had already taken their day one objectives. We totally raped on D-Day.

I'm interested in how nearly losing Omaha beach was the American's fault, considering how it was one of, if not the, most heavily defended beach heads. Its also should be fair to note that the British did not reach all their targets on day one.

 

[dragonslayer32]

this stuff really pisses me off. im british and get this all the time over xbox live from little american kids that know nothing(not a shot against americans, just these little shits, every country has them) yes, the americans did supply us weapons and give us loans, but who fought the war for the first 3 years? we went in because hitler was destroying europe and committing mass genecide. the americans went in because of pearl harbour. yes, we may not have won the war if the americans didnt come in but does anyone really think that america would still be in afganistan if we wernt there? (and we wernt 3 years late)

Once again, the fact that almost noone knew about the mass genocide must be brought up.

tell u what, have 6 million of your people killed, then comment

Uh...I didn't say it didn't happen. Just that at the time, almost no one knew it was happening.

i didnt say that they did, but we had our suspicions, you know, when millions of people went missing and europe was falling apart

Interesting... you were alive during World War Two? Or was someone you know alive then? Valid questions I think, based on the phrasing of your questions.

i asked two questions, one of which was about afganistan, you know, a CURRENT war and the other was about who fought the war for the first 3 years. incase you are unaware, this was retorical, im pretty sure all of the people on this discussion know who fought it, the BRITISH did (and the french but they were more of a rebel force). Finally, yes, 2 of my great grandparents died fighting in that war. pointless deaths in my opinion as SOME people's ignorance of the matter is quite shocking.

Okay. I was talking about he holocaust. Not Afghanistan. I think we had a miscommunicaion.

i was too, its just you mentioned the way i phrased my questions so i felt obliged to clarify, one of those questions was about afganistan but the rest of my comments were about WW2. anyway, this is clearly going nowhere, valid points have been made, lets just drop it.

 

[bz316]

Who thinks the British didn't do anything? What about the Battle of Britain, El Alamein, the early days of the Pacific Theater, 1/3 of the Beaches in Normandy, nearly half the forces involved in the Battle of the Bulge, etc? Hell, Montgomery practically threw Rommel out of North Africa himself.

 

[Kinguendo]

To be fair, the British only had to deal with the Luftwaffe- had the Third Reich actually invaded Britain like they had the rest of mainland Europe, I think you guys would have been in some serious trouble. You probably also wouldn't have done too well if the Americans hadn't been sending you weapons, ammo and equipment secretly.

But to say the British were a 'non-factor' in World War II is just silly. Field Marshal Montgomery pushed Rommel and the Wermacht out of North Africa almost single-handedly. They were also major factors in Operation Overlord, battling up through Sicily and Italy, the (failed) invasion of Holland and, as someone said, cracking the ENIGMA code.

We were buying those weapons... you dont say a shopkeeper saved your ass when they give you what you purchased.

And Britain is one of the hardest places to assault by sea, so yeah "invading Britain like they did the rest of mainland Europe" would be marching into Britain... unless they can now walk on water they arent marching into Britain... which has always had one of the best naval forces in the world. Germany simply couldnt invade Britain successfully after losing the Battle of Britain, so you saying "if they invaded" requires MAJOR changes in history because if they tried to invade as things were they would have been obliterated. So yeah, no invasion of Britain for them.