DC Tom Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 It was in the first show..don't know if ranked is the correct term, but it was more about troop size. The series stated that in 1939, ours was the 17th biggest military force in terms on manpower. It also was interesting in that the draft was started in 1940, but part of the legislation was that none of those boys could be sent overseas to fight in ANY conflict, obviously changed on December 7th 1941. I'm surprised the US military ranked even that high. They must be including Army and Navy both. Which is even scarier...the US had one of the largest navies in the world in the 1930's (maybe second only to Great Britain's). And 17th overall? That tells you how dreadfully small and under-funded the Army was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 I'd be interested to know why you think WWI was even more transformative? After WWII, you had the bomb, which transformed everything, the US becoming a superpower, etc. Nuclear weapons weren't transformative. The end of European colonialism, which WWII started, was transformative, as was the rise of Soviet power to the international stage. WWI...transformative in philosophy, maybe - it made people realize how futile and bankrupt war really was (whereas it was indulged when not embraced in the previous several hundred years). Only other thing transformative about it I can think of was the Russian Revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Nuclear weapons weren't transformative No world war in 64 years and counting The end of European colonialism, which WWII started, was transformative, as was the rise of Soviet power to the international stage. WWI...transformative in philosophy, maybe - it made people realize how futile and bankrupt war really was-till a new group of body's was available exactly one generation latter (whereas it was indulged when not embraced in the previous several hundred years). Only other thing transformative about it I can think of was the Russian Revolution. My take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 My take. Your take's wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Your take's wrong. Well I guess that closes that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Well I guess that closes that. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it, given the simplistic nature of the view you already hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I'm pretty sure you wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it, given the simplistic nature of the view you already hold. Why not enlighten some of our more intellectual readers on your absolute, definitive analyzes of the past hundred years of human warfare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 It's been playing all day on the History Channel and I'm DVR'ing it now...looking forward to it. My Pops was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese came unannounced, Guadalcanal, Coral Sea and some others. Love the color and HD look, but how can it be more realistic than Midway, in 1976, in SensSurround? Don't forget that Spielberg and Hanks are at it again for HBO, coming next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Don't forget that Spielberg and Hanks are at it again for HBO, coming next year. Saw a ten minute commercial or something similiar on HBO about this, looks just as good as Band Of Brothers..but even better cause it gunna be in HIGH DEF!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Why not enlighten some of our more intellectual readers on your absolute, definitive analyzes of the past hundred years of human warfare? So you want me to distill years of study into a message board post of sufficient brevity as befits your attention span? And deny you the pleasure of discovering things for yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 So you want me to distill years of study into a message board post of sufficient brevity as befits your attention span? And deny you the pleasure of discovering things for yourself? You know nothing of me or my attention span, so lets assume the worst and put this in a 6th grade format. Tom-You say nuclear weapons were not transformitve yet we have had no world wars since there first use in 1945, despite some of the highest international tensions in history. Briefly explain. [you may use the chalkboard] your Saying "I know it all" is not a acceptable answer to #1. Lets try #2-you claim WW1 taught Europe war is futile, yet WW two broke out 20 years latter, with the greatest lose of life in any war in history.[you may use a etch-a-sketch] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Fischer Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Utterly pathetic. I'm a teacher, so I can say this: what the hell are teachers doing these days? Good lord! This is stuff I learned about in kindergarten! Not a shot at Lew, but jeez louise, it's not the teachers, it's the PARENTS. Parents are the greatest influence on kids, teachers are far, far, far, second- third or fourth. My kids know about it b/c I told them, then it clicked when the teachers "briefly" went over it. Chances are most adult Americans can name the invasion and a minuscule can name the country or location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Fischer Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Nuclear weapons weren't transformative. The end of European colonialism, which WWII started, was transformative, as was the rise of Soviet power to the international stage. WWI...transformative in philosophy, maybe - it made people realize how futile and bankrupt war really was (whereas it was indulged when not embraced in the previous several hundred years). Only other thing transformative about it I can think of was the Russian Revolution. Oh, yeah, and the end of the "stable" Victorian Era (and the destruction monarchical Europe - including Russia), the rise of communism, the spark of fascism, it pushed the USA onto the world stage and the birthplace of modern mechanized warfare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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