Search results

Oof, forgot about him. "Hey, let's put our paras in an exposed, undefendable strip of jungle, supplied only by air, then let's never clear any potential enemy AAA or even take and hold the nearby heights to protect ourselves." The Vietnamese then set up AAA, took the heights and started...

If said victory was ultimately futile and/or could have been won with far fewer casualties, I'd say yes. A poor general costs his army greatly even when he wins. Except this would then run into a lot of "what-if" scenarios and tons of speculation, so no real point in arguing those because then...

The problem with the KMT is that the best troops died in Shanghai. They fought bravely but there was no real way they could stand up to the might of Japan, which was one of the major industrial powers of the world at the time. After that, they were stuck with subpar militia and useless...

The problem is, while both high commands (USN and IJN) were very much of the mindset of the Big Guns (i.e. using Battleships as the main firing line of a fleet and the rest as support or escorts), some Japanese admirals had an understanding of the use of air power, something Yamamoto used to his...

One thing to bear in mind is that for the Pearl Harbor defense to be successful, the battleships need to be salvageable and repairable. Having the fleet get very early warning and go fight the Japanese in deep waters will mean the utter loss of the fleet; none of the ships had anywhere near...

It would take more involvement by the other powers to get them to take part in long-term German occupation. The Allies were a massive coalition of nations fighting together, but only three or four of them were in any position to dictate the post-war map, France being one of them. Canada and the...

There was still an element of this racism in pre-1900 America, as there were discussions of annexing Mexico after the Mexican-American War ended in a crushing American victory. In the end, however, they decided against it for many reasons, not least of which was a desire not to bring in too many...

Given the long, tortuous American experience in Afghanistan, I'm inclined to agree. Invading the place was easy, but like the Soviets found out, staying was the hard part. Unlike the Soviets, though, the Americans at least fixed up Afghanistan to acceptable levels. I hear they're almost back to...

Iran would probably have a somewhat better position in the Middle East; yes, the embargo would still be in place, but without a hostile Iraqi leadership, Iran would appeal to the Shi'ites and try to pull them into its sphere of influence, bolstering their position.

Moseddegh is never overthrown; Operation Ajax is stillborn, or fails. With the Shah's position compromised by the fact the Americans and British were trying to subvert the democratic process in his favor, and Moseddegh remaining in power, it allows Iran to mitigate the worst of the anger and...

No. Not in the least bit possible. Jordan and Iraq were Hashemite monarchies, which were threatened by the rising tide of Arab Nationalism/Republicanism embodied by Egypt and the UAR. They formed the Arab Federation as a response and a counter to the creation of the UAR, in an attempt to unite...

I'm guessing the assumed scenario is in the early 1940-41 time period, pre-Barbarossa. Having American divisions in Britain means the invasion will be that much harder, not to mention that late 1941 means the British will have rearmed sufficiently to make an invasion even bloodier. After...

I highly doubt that. For one thing, several other capitalist nations are doing (mostly) fine. Hell, even the USSR absorbed capitalist ideas into its system. Then again, you have people saying AIDS, Covid-19, and economic downturn are punishments from God, but those tend to be a radical minority.

Not plausible. While China is so large many of its constituent regions practically have their own national identity, there's always been a sense of being parts of a greater whole. While ostensibly a USSR-style breakup is possible, most of China would quickly and easily return to the fold if...

Revolution would come quicker. The people were starving in the streets and he's living it large in the palaces, discontent was high, and it still doesn't resolve the issue of much-needed reforms. Unless of course you're positing a scenario where Nicky gets whacked early and leaves his wife and...

And yet these actions have repercussions. Killing off the Algerians in the prewars or interwar period will make Algeria useless as a recruiting center. Manpower shortages during the wars as a result of the cullings will damage France's manpower pool - not to mention the atrocities will incite...

So basically France going Fascist and going full genocidal on the Algerians pre-WW2? It would certainly reduce the locals enough that troubles start later. But it would still leave a deep stain on France's history in light of what Germany does - and one could argue that French actions in Algeria...

Since we're going with an Allied-Victory post-WW2 scenario, that sort of mass extermination would be a massive black eye to the Allies; the USA and UK will try to turn a blind eye, but if it ever gets out, well, the sanitation dump trucks full of waste matter are on a collision course with a...

Don't overexaggerate or overdemonize the Gurkhas. They're bad enough without you making your own troops terrified shitless of them. :P https://en.mercopress.com/2001/06/13/gurkha-soldier-remembers-terror-of-argentines http://www.psywarrior.com/Falklands.html Basically, the junta tried to...

Basically something Paul von Hindenberg said about Adolph Hitler when he met him after the latter got elected Chancellor. https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/38799/why-did-paul-von-hindenburg-wrongly-call-adolf-hitler-bohemian-corporal