ETO vs.PTO (1 Viewer)

[semperrandyfi]

Were there differences in equipment,tactics,weapons between both theaters? Hell yes!
Let's start with 2 canteens issued to grunts..
No markings (red crosses ) on hospital corpsmen;all corpsmen armed w/.45 or carbine.
(Not so in ETO as many medics were COs.)
Marines used shotguns (Ike said 'no using' in ETO)
More flamethrowers used in PTO,more napalm.
Much,much more hand-to-hand combat in PTO so "Fix Bayonets" were a given here.
37mmA-T guns used point blank on bunkers and anti-banzai attacks(canister).
75mm pack howitzer more jungle friendly than 'big tube bros'
M-4 Shermans-sandbagged rear decks,wood sideboards(anti -mine),No M-2s on turrets,
all hatches guarded with nails,spikes,chicken wire,no white stars on any vehicle side.
Not having to deal with 50,000 deserters in your rear (where to run in the Pacific?)
I will give you that the Nazis' had more and prettier tanks.
Comments?

 

[larso]

Higher chance of being KIA in the ETO - the action was non-stop from D to VE day.
Women easily found in the ETO vs NONE in the PTO.
Reasonable chances to obtain treats (alcohol, extra food) vs ... fish?
The German's generally took prisoners, the Japanese (in the latter years) did not.
A few months of extreme cold vs non-stop chance of catching a tropical disease.

 

[lancer]

The PTO was basically a race war between cultures that didn't understand each other, underestimated each other, and held a basic contempt for each other. A PoW in the ETO had a reasonable expectation of survival. A Allied PoW, if even taken in the PTO, faced unending brutality and a very low expectation of survival. PoW's, in either TO, were in for hard times. -- Al

 

[semperrandyfi]

The PTO was basically a race war between cultures that didn't understand each other, underestimated each other, and held a basic contempt for each other. A PoW in the ETO had a reasonable expectation of survival. A Allied PoW, if even taken in the PTO, faced unending brutality and a very low expectation of survival. PoW's, in either TO, were in for hard times. -- Al

The PTO had us dragged in because the Japs were unhappy with our response to them racially
eradicating other Asians(Chinese).We said" oh no"to oil,metal and trips by the New York Yankees
to Nippon.This move angered the ones who did not look or speak like us.Luckily the Nazis were not racist as all minorities
in their crosshairs were dealt with humanely.

 

[waynepoo]

The PTO had us dragged in because the Japs were unhappy with our response to them racially
eradicating other Asians(Chinese).We said" oh no"to oil,metal and trips by the New York Yankees
to Nippon.This move angered the ones who did not look or speak like us.Luckily the Nazis were not racist as all minorities
in their crosshairs were dealt with humanely.

What! are you living on another planet?.....Nazis were not racist! ^&confuse^&confuse^&confuse^&confuse

 

[lancer]

[/B]
What! are you living on another planet?.....Nazis were not racist! ^&confuse^&confuse^&confuse^&confuse

Wayne, I read that and was really hoping he was being sarcastic. -- Al

 

[waynepoo]

Wayne, I read that and was really hoping he was being sarcastic. -- Al

Perhaps, and lets hope so, if not ...well OMG!

 

[Desertkiwi]

Seriously ........what is the real point of this thread?.........it's like comparing apples with oranges!

 

[uksubs]

Luckily the Nazis were not racist as all minorities
in their crosshairs were dealt with humanely.

Really !?

 

[semperrandyfi]

Really !?

Wait,wait I did say the Nazis' had more and prettier tanks than the Japs.I mean,you gotta give me that.
Laddie bucks',my whimsical rebuttal was in questioning the response that the PTO was basically a race war.
In all honesty ,we killed them before they killed us and it was not for racial supremacy.Pearl Harbor was not
self-inflicted. Just sayin'.

 

[Jack]

Wait,wait I did say the Nazis' had more and prettier tanks than the Japs.I mean,you gotta give me that.
Laddie bucks',my whimsical rebuttal was in questioning the response that the PTO was basically a race war.
In all honesty ,we killed them before they killed us and it was not for racial supremacy.Pearl Harbor was not
self-inflicted. Just sayin'.

Perhaps not a race war in origin (generally speaking) but one in which the racial divide shaped the way it was fought? The Australian experience would, generally speaking again, conform to that view. The Australian PM WM Hughes was one of the most committed opponents of Japanese attempts to have a racial equality adopted by the League of Nations. We may not have fought them because they were an Asian power but it informed everything about the way we dealt with them in peace and war. In the days before 1945 we didn't talk about protecting 'White Australia' in peace and war in an abstract way. It was one of our founding creeds in 1901.

 

[hotel3alpha]

I will give you that the Nazis' had more and prettier tanks.
Comments?

Semperrandyfi,

Yes sir I have a comment. Sometimes less is more and General Patton took care of that in the final tank battles of WWII. Likewise, I don't think the Germans based a tank design on being "pretty" and if they did, well the Sherman Tank certainly crashed the tank fashion show out in the field. That tank was pretty fugly, but got the job done. The Nazi dress uniforms were really "pretty" too, but how they got those riding boots on and off everyday is beyond me. In fact, they were so "pretty" (the boots) that regular soldiers would steal dead enemy soldiers boots (mostly Russian) because the "pretty" ones did not keep their feet warm.

Now on to "Luckily the Nazi's were not racists as all minorities in their crosshairs were dealt with humanly". I...uh...don't know how to even compute, digest or understand that statement. Further, "lucky" for who? And what is the definition of humanly? The Gas Chamber vs. just shooting jews/civilians in the open? Y'know they (The Nazi Brass) actually had a meeting/conference about the subject of "humane" genocide before implementing the Final Solution. A meeting...y'know...with coffee and cookies.

So, you asked for comments on your post and I am giving you a couple. But my final comment is:

this statement is flat out weird brother...just sayin'.

John from Texas

 

[lancer]

Semperrandyfi,

Yes sir I have a comment. Sometimes less is more and General Patton took care of that in the final tank battles of WWII. Likewise, I don't think the Germans based a tank design on being "pretty" and if they did, well the Sherman Tank certainly crashed the tank fashion show out in the field. That tank was pretty fugly, but got the job done. The Nazi dress uniforms were really "pretty" too, but how they got those riding boots on and off everyday is beyond me. In fact, they were so "pretty" (the boots) that regular soldiers would steal dead enemy soldiers boots (mostly Russian) because the "pretty" ones did not keep their feet warm.

Now on to "Luckily the Nazi's were not racists as all minorities in their crosshairs were dealt with humanly". I...uh...don't know how to even compute, digest or understand that statement. Further, "lucky" for who? And what is the definition of humanly? The Gas Chamber vs. just shooting jews/civilians in the open? Y'know they (The Nazi Brass) actually had a meeting/conference about the subject of "humane" genocide before implementing the Final Solution. A meeting...y'know...with coffee and cookies.

So, you asked for comments on your post and I am giving you a couple. But my final comment is:

this statement is flat out weird brother...just sayin'.

John from Texas

On the subject of the Final Solution conference, it was called the Wannsee Conference, took place in 1942. There is an outstanding and horrifying film on the subject called 'Conspiracy', made in 2001 by HBO and starring Kenneth Branagh as Heydrich and Stanley Tucci as Eichmann. It is well worth watching. -- Al

 

[hotel3alpha]

On the subject of the Final Solution conference, it was called the Wannsee Conference, took place in 1942. There is an outstanding and horrifying film on the subject called 'Conspiracy', made in 2001 by HBO and starring Kenneth Branagh as Heydrich and Stanley Tucci as Eichmann. It is well worth watching. -- Al

Al,

Brother I OWN that movie. I accidentally found it at a CD Exchange a few years back and saw that Tucci and Branagh were in it...read the back and was like "no way" they made a movie on this? Yes sir, excellent movie and there is a documentary I watched on NETFLIX one time that explained the "pre" Wannsee Conference ways of doing business. I can't seem to put my finger on it, but It actually had film of soldiers mowing down prisoners. Just horrible.

Anyway, good looking out...

John from Texas

 

[Warrior]

Luckily the Nazis were not racist as all minorities
in their crosshairs were dealt with humanely.

Congrats; you just won the internet.

Wow.

I mean.................just...............................wow.

 

[jazzeum]

There are some unusual threads recently but this one probably takes first place.

 

[Jack]

I am pretty certain the 'humanely' comment was sarcasm intended to make a point rather than the literal statement of a belief.

 

[RPZ]

The PTO was basically a race war between cultures that didn't understand each other, underestimated each other, and held a basic contempt for each other. A PoW in the ETO had a reasonable expectation of survival. A Allied PoW, if even taken in the PTO, faced unending brutality and a very low expectation of survival. PoW's, in either TO, were in for hard times. -- Al

On the contrary, the survival rates of allied soldiers was far higher than German soldiers in allied camps. This is an historical fact. The media propaganda post-ww2 has obscured this to the point that most people just accept the opposite.

 

[jazzeum]

This thread can be better understood if you know that Randy is a Marine. Marines who have been on this Forum believe that the Pacific theatre receives short shrift. I have no doubt that the "humanely" comment was made to show that the Japanese were worse than the Germans. Thus, I believe he was sincere when he made the comment.

By the way, as a friend who was married to a Marine once told me there is no such thing as a former or ex-Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

 

[lancer]

On the contrary, the survival rates of allied soldiers was far higher than German soldiers in allied camps. This is an historical fact. The media propaganda post-ww2 has obscured this to the point that most people just accept the opposite.

Your point is not contrary to my point, it is an entirely different point. I was discussing Allied PoW survival in the PTO compared to the ETO. My point had nothing to do with German PoW's survival rates. When you include Russia with the Allies, I am sure German PoW survival rates plummet. -- Al