Which area of operations do you guys find the most interesting and why? Be it the SE Pacific Theater, Africa, Battle of the Atlantic, etc, etc. The area that has always gained the most attention from me was the China-India-Burma theater. The fighting wasn't on the scale of the major land battles of Europe or the naval enagements of the Pacific, but these guys still fought despretly hard with often little supplies, little support, and against an enemy that usually outnumbered them, or at the least, was trained better. They diversity of troops used is also quite interesting, be it Indian troops, Chinese, Gurkha, British, Dutch, ANZAC, or American. Not only did the CBI troops have to worry about the Japanese, but the diseases and many dangers of the jungle. Jungle warfare, brutal, deadly and very interesting!
I always loved North Africa, especially the Brits Vs Rommel. This comes from a computer game, Desert Rats by RT Smith released by CCS http://www.crashonline.org.uk/29/desertrats.htm This was my first experiance of wargames and I loved it. It also encouraged me go out and read about the people, places, equipment and tactics. I also feel that the North Africa battles were unique in their fluid flowing nature and that both sides never had a constant advantage. A true battle of wits were tactics were doubly important. FNG
North-West Europe, the campaigns of 6 June 1944 - 8 May 1945. This is obviously the most commonly used theme for movies and books, which is probably why I got so interested in this particular theatre. However, the more I learned about it the more I realized that it is this theatre's gigantic dramatic power that makes it so vastly interesting, to me and others. It is in its essence the ultimate downfall tale; once the Allies gained a firm footing in Normandy, the German war machine had failed and Germany was lost. Moreover it is filled with glorious achievements and terrible setbacks for both sides; it involves hugely interesting battles on both a strategic and a tactical level, and tales of heroism abound. Add to this the fact that where I live this theatre is by far the most documented and accessible, and the fact that travelling just a small distance in any direction will cause me to bump into the remains of the theatre's enticing history. Hook, line...
to me its the air battle over the reich 43-45 the massiv air battles that took place in day time as well as the high tech radar war in the night between the germans and the reich
Same here. The ingenuity and tactics used by both sides were amazing to say the least. The desert landscape also proved to be perfect ground for tank battles, one of my other favorites! I always enjoyed studying the transition of the German military from offensive to defensive, and how they were still quite remarkable at that.
im most interested in the eastern front 1941-1945. mainly because it is in this theatre that the war was won and lost IMHO. also it was where some of the major tank battles took place and drove the development of armourded vehicles throught out the war.
i'm more interested in naval battles. why? because there was a kind of respect for the enemy, espacially in the europian sea's. it was like "okay, we are going to sink those bastards and then we are going to pick them out of the sea, give them dry clothes and some hot soup." unfortonaly, this changed in the Pacific and with the comming of carriers. it was like "We sank them, those japs are in the middle of the ocean without anybody to pick them up. i say we calll it a day and go home"
I just think the year 1944 was packed with great things D-day, operation market garden Battle of the bulge, Tawara Ect.
When I was a "cold war warrior" stationed in Germany waiting for the "Red hordes" to come across the border, I read everything I could find on armored warfare on the Eastern front, especially anything written by the Germans who fought there. I guess that is still my favorite AO.
seeing the amount of man and material witch was used for every battle on the eastern front makes it a very impressive front.
I find the whole aspect of the air war particularly interesting. The carrier combats in the Pacific, fighter command's defence of Britain, the coming of age of the fighter-bomber, etc...
definitly ETO / D-day or battle of buldge. I love hearing and reading about 101st airborne & Patton's 3rd army. Just the way the allies rolled across the european continent was amazing. Even when nazi germany threw everything in the waste-basket at them in the ardennes they still held and eventually counter-attacked.
