Hello WWII Enthusiasts!

To all:

Hi there all! I just joined your forum and would like to introduce myself. I am Evilroddy from Canada and have been captivated by military history and especially WWII since I was a child. In addition to reading military history and discussing it with others, I have taught courses on it in high schools and colleges (called CEGEPs) in Quebec and in Ontario. I am also an avid board and table-top miniature wargamer who games from the Bronze Age to the most recent conflicts of the 21st Century. But WWII is my favorite period to game.

Why have I come here? To learn and, if I can, to perhaps teach but certainly to share all things WWII with you all. I am between 60-65 years old, have lived in Canada, the U.K. and in parts of Europe, have an abiding passion for history in all its various forms, especially military history. I am a university graduate at the BA and MA levels in History and Economics, a certified teacher at the secondary and post-secondary collegiate level and after a brief but futile flirtation with an army cadet programme, I have not served in any military.
So there you have it!

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

Welcome aboard old boy...throw a towel down and relax...

 

Biak:

Thank you. Regarding interests, well that is a bit tricky, because I am interested in it all. However there are holes in my understanding of WWII and those are where I will gravitate towards. My emphasis has been exploring and learning the period primarily from a UK Commonwealth perspective between Allies and Axis from the start to the finish of the war. Then I expanded into studying the Great Patriotic War, which was a lot to digest and which I am still ruminating upon. Then came the role of the American republic in the war, pre and post Pearl Harbor/the Aleutians attacks. Then the expanding nature of the war in the Greater Middle East and Persia. Then India and Burma. Finally I went back to the Eastern Front to learn more about the logistics and economic warfare which that titanic struggle entailed upon all sides.

That focus on military history spring-boarded into a study of the economic and political policies which characterised the prosecution and the end of the war and led to reconstruction. Then denazification, post-war forced migrations, the US-led Post-war global order and the emergence of the Cold War and decolonisation. Parallel to this was studying the social history of the war on the people of the time but this with the blinders of focusing on Europe, the Soviet Union and the Greater Middle East almost exclusively. Another theme of study has been man's inhumanity to man and the capacity for atrocity and genocide In unlimited total war by all sides.

Areas of comparative ignorance are the Japanese-US Pacific War in general, the China and the Burmese campaigns, understanding US military/naval strategy and operations in the 1942-1943 time period of the Pacific War, the war's impact on Indochina, Malaysia, Central and South America and in Sub-Saharan Africa. I am most comfortable discussing land warfare, less so discussing air-warfare and least proficient in naval warfare and logistics in general.

I hope that clears up your question about interests.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

Thank you GRW!

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

CAC:

Why thank you, sir. However where I live it is snowing heavily right now so I may switch out the towel for an Arctic sleeping bag, a plastic sheet and a parka! Nonetheless your kindness and hospitality is duly noted.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

Save your pennies and come to sunny Darwin..!


Its Monsoon season at the moment...Its 90F with 69% humidity (a little low today)...


NOTE: Don't forget to study the Australians in WW2...They did more than most know...Some great stories.

.

 

OpanaPointer:

Thank you wise elder and I will start nosing around the resources in order to ameliorate my comparative ignorance of the Pacific theatre of the War. Incidently my American mum was a a lieutenant in the US Army (a nurse) during WWII and I have quite a trove of letters and photos from her about being posted and trained in the Mojave Desert, shipped to England, billeted in Llandudno Wales, serving in France and Belgium and being transported back to America intending to be redeployed to the East when VJ-Day mooted that move. My Old Da did not serve in inform as he was a bit of an egg-head and was part of the National Defence Research Council of Canada during the war, working on enhanced-plywood for aircraft building, flame propellants and other things which should not be mentioned even today.

Thank you for reminding me of the resources at your disposal. Hopefully it will be easier accessing them than driving over to Ottawa to rummage through the The Canadian War Museum archives and the National Archives when I need to track down a source. I am, alas, a bit of a Luddite in this digital world.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

CAC:

Yup, from Gallipoli and Suvla Bay, through Greece, Crete, the Levant, Libya (Tobruk) and Egypt, to Singapore, to Port Moresby and New Guinea, to Vietnam and finally to Afghanistan, the Aussies have served with distinction, ferocity and honour. They have never been forgotten in my mind or in my heart. When I think of their sacrifices and successes, the music of Eric Bogle or Cold Chisel run through my mind. Although it's about WWI the films "The Lighthorsemen" and "Beneath Hill 60" are two of my favourites which are even better IMHO than "Gallipoli" or "Breaker Morant".

Nor can we forget the Kiwis either.

Thank you and have a great and safe summer. At this point I would never dare to mention the "Bob Semple tank", as that would just be unnecessarily rude!

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

LRusso216:

Yes indeed. We never stop learning until we stop living and even then, who really knows! I will question, muse and endeavour to not spout (too much) here in what I hope will be a shared journey to better understanding.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

Welcome

 

No need to school you in Australian military history I see…I’ll go sit in the corner now : )

I think the last Australian military movie to come out is ‘Danger Close’ - Story of the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam.
105 Aussie diggers (6RAR) against 2000 Viet Cong and NVA…Great story, good movie.

 

CAC:

Don't be fooled. My knowledge of the ANZAC troops is still pretty limited and only superficial, especially outside of the North African/Middle Eastern bubble.

I think I saw an American film about Afghanistan by the same name, but I was unaware of the 2019 film which you mentioned. I'll track it down and give it a look. I saw the trailer on YouTube. Bloody hell!

While I've got your attention, can you suggest to me any good or superior books giving a comprehensive history of either the Australian or the ANZAC forces in the first half of the 20th Century? One that gives as much information about regiments, training and operations outside of the above mentioned bubble as from within it? I might as well start there as any place else in the Pacific. Another area of ignorance for me and thus interest too is the Royal and East India Company Dutch forces in SE Asia during WWII. On the off chance that this is something you're interested in, any reference would be appreciated.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

Hello Temujin Khan!

One does not get to speak with Mongolian Hu that often. I am honoured. When will you be transforming into your Genghis/Chinggis aspect?

I am presently filing down, cleaning up and preparing a pre-empire tribal Mongolian Army in 15mm miniatures to paint up after I finish my Neo-Babylonian Army and my Early Neo-Assyrian army. Lots of light cavalry with spear and bow plus some heavy cavalry and some generic Asiatic hordes of foot. Yes, I am a nerd. You have my apologies!

A musical closing in honour of the Great Khan!



Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.

 

Welcome EvilRoddy,

For WWII US Naval History, a good overview I would recommend is Samuel Eliot Morrisons "The Two Ocean Navy". It covers the US Navy's history from pre-war tthrough to the end of WWII and covers all theaters they operated in. An older book, but gives an excellent overview, then you can drill down into areas that particularly interest you. He hits most of the high points and critical factors, technological, political, logistical, strategic and tactical that shaped events and are covered in depth in his 15 Volume "History of United States Naval Operations in WWII". Since you seem to be so well versed in other theaters, the discussion of the U-boat war, Torch, Operations in the Med, the Russia convoys, Normandy, etc. with which you're familiar, will place the Pacific (which was first and foremost a Naval War) in its proper perspective.

With your overview in place, James D. Hornfischer's books on the Navy in WWII provide a well-researched, easy to read, compelling telling of the story of the allied naval forces vs Japan, in the Pacific War. In chronological order with respects to the war, and with publication date: “Ship of Ghosts” (2006), “Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal” (2011), “The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944–1945” (2017) and “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” (2004). The last book takes place in October 1944 during the time covered of "Fleet at Flood Tide".

The Naval battles were mostly tied to the land campaigns so once familiar with the naval battles you can pick the land operations that interest you most.

Good luck.

 

USMCPrice:

Thank you for your advice. I read Samuel Eliot Morison's "The Two-Ocean War" many, many years ago, (1970's IIRC) but you're absolutely right, a reread would be wise since it's all but forgotten now. It was my dad's book. I hope I still have it here along with a two-volume history of the Age of Discovery by Morison. No doubt it's boxed away! The 15-volume series sounds a bit daunting for my immediate purposes but I'll also see if any local institutions have that available for lending by the volume. If that can be found, then I'll keep that in my back pocket for possible future reference. The Hornfischer books sound intriguing and I will see if I can track them down to borrow or to buy them. Thanks for your great suggestions and good counsel.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.