Aside from having Hitler come to power in the first place, I would have to say that the loss of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was the first great tragedy that led to the demise of the German war machine.
Dunkirk for the Brits and French. The Falise Pocket for the Germans. Pearl Harbor and The Kasserine Pass for the Americans. Operation Barbarossa for the russinas. The Kokoda trail for the Aussies and New Zealanders (bloody tough fighting). Okinawa for the Japaneese. Operation Market Garden for the Allies. These are few that come to mind.
M60A1, do you consider a German army loss in WW2 a tragedy?!? Well, for the Allies, I'd have to say Pearl Harbor, the invention of the Sherman and Robert E. Lee tanks, the lack of intel work done before D-Day (which led to chaos on the beaches and scattered paratroop landings, and Montgomery. I'd also say that Rommel's becoming a General and Hartmann's becoming a pilot was some bad news for us as well.
Overall it would have to be the dropping of the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was a devastation to the Japanese. Today, it is devastating for the U.S. because we have the label of being the only country having used a weapon that today we try to keep other countries from having. ------------------ Tschuss
When I said that the loss of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was a great tragedy, I, of course, meant it was a great trgedy for the GERMANS! If I gave another impression, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
The loss at the battle of Midway was devestating for the Japanese. Not only did they lose 4 aircraft carriers but 200 plus aircraft was well as their pilots. The biggest loss for the Japanese was their feelings of invincability. The biggest tragedy for Germany was not a battle, but the allies aquisition of the enigma machine without the Germans knowledge. This will lead to many subsequent German losses. ------------------ Carthage must be destroyed!
i think a big tragedy of WW2 is the lack of official appologies by Japan for their behavior during the war. Can't forget the holocaust! Fire bombing of Japan (even worse than A-bombs) the collapse of the Russian front for the germans Battle of Savo Island for US navy Malmady massacre Russian Invasion of Berlin for Germany operation Barbarossa for Russia
Other needless tragedies were: the complete waste of Japanese soldiers in Banzai charges against the Marines-especially on Guadalcanal. Which included the wasting of units like: Ichici Detachment, Kawaguchi Brigade, and the Sendai Division--all were premier Japanese units. All were wasted-and for what?
Another tragedy was the German U-Boot service. hey had somewhere to the tune of 75% or higher, casualties. Basically 3 out of 4, did not return from patrol.
The greatest tragedy by far was that Hitler was not killed by one of the attempts made on his life prior to... at the very least Operation Barbarossa. Think of the lives which might have been saved... the suffering on all sides which might have been averted. ------------------ Novus Ordo Seclorum
Another tragedy that comes to mind is.....The Russian sinking of the evacuee ship the Wilhelm Gustloff. The Sovies sub commander was disgraced after the war for it which I was very surprised to find out. Also was surprised that the Soviet government, would actuall admit to such a thing. I t shows you that they are only human too........................................
And we are all very angry at you for it too Carl. By the way Carl, you can edit your post if the spelling bothers you that much! Yeah, tragedies all around, but that's how war is. Millions of men trying to kill each other is a tragedy in itself. But the BIGGEST by far was the fact that WW2 could have been completely avaoided. Unfortunately the Treaty of Versailles and anti-Japanese sentiment and racism created fertile political ground for aggressive military dictators.
I just came across this info today on worst tragedys at sea. The German hospital ship SS Bremerhaven was sunk on 10 31 44 by 5 Russian planes dropping torpedoes and bombs. There were 1,515 stretcher cases, 156 walking wounded, 680 refugees, 511 from organization todt, 200 ss guards, 42 medical staff, 22 AA gunners and 45 civilian crew which totals to 3,171. Also another case of worst tragedy was the German evacuation from the Hela Penninsula in the Bay of Danzig on 4 16 45.
The worst must undoubtedly be the Holocaust! Consider: Whatever the nationalistic motivations which goad populations into wars of conquest, and the subsequent loss of life involved in the aggression or the defense of the nations attacked, these are in a sense a different sort of casualty. The Holocaust was not perpetrated against organized units of armed men who at the very least had the means to strike back at their "assailants", but hapless, helpless civilians who were brutally enslaved and exterminated as a result of a twisted socio-political agenda... Tragedy hardly comes close to describing it.
I agree with you also on the Holocaust. What seems to not be too well-known is the fact that Stalin killed appx 30 million of his own people. Stalin also remover whole populations from regions and sent them to his death (work camps) in Siberia. Who was the more evil?
