Originally Posted by FutureRANGER

Wasn't Iwo Jima very important because it provided a stepping stone into Japan? And a refueling base for bombers attacking Japan. I remember reading somewhere that Iwo Jima gave the US a very very large advantage in the Pacific.

My 2 cents.

Still, had it not been for the crucial early victories, Iwo would not have even happened.

I can agree it was important, but it was no turning point in that sense IMHO.

Iwo Jima was(in my "expert" opinion) the turning piont because it was the biggest morale booster for the Marines during the war. All a Marine needs is a little motivation and he will do amazing things!

The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years.
-James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy; 23 February 1945

Originally Posted by Animal Mother

Still, had it not been for the crucial early victories, Iwo would not have even happened.

I can agree it was important, but it was no turning point in that sense IMHO.

I see what you're saying, that makes sense. What was the turning point in the Pacific? Maybe Midway.

Originally Posted by FutureRANGER

I see what you're saying, that makes sense. What was the turning point in the Pacific? Maybe Midway.

Coral Sea/Midway. Midway was the most important, but had it not been for the losses suffered by the IJN in the Coral Sea battle, they would have had 6 carriers instead of 4 at Midway.

Guadacanal showed that the IJA could beaten on land.

So in the end i would say Midway/Guadacanal.

Let see,well i say it was OP OVERLORD when hitler was sleeping and generals were too afraid to wake hima up!!!!l::

Originally Posted by Marksman

Let see,well i say it was OP OVERLORD when hitler was sleeping and generals were too afraid to wake hima up!!!!l::

LOL

Coral Sea/Midway. Midway was the most important, but had it not been for the losses suffered by the IJN in the Coral Sea battle, they would have had 6 carriers instead of 4 at Midway.

I can agree with Coral Sea, too. Our Navy kicks ass!

In my opinion, the major tactical errors, costing the Axis the war were:

A.) Dunkirk: 140 000 French and 200 000 British soldiers were allowed to escape back to England, forming the bulk force of the allies initially. The Germans could have prevented this, but instead stopped their advances and allowed the rescue to take place. Oh well.....

B.) Battle of Britain: Hitler shifted the Luftwaffe to attack civillian spots, rather than finishing off the RAF, giving the RAF time to organize and form an actual decent resistance. If they would have just taken them out, Europe would have been Hitler's.

C.) Operation Barbarossa: BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER. Those 3 million soldiers Hitler used to invade Russia could have been used elsewhere, and it only dragged Russia into fighting Hitler. This 2 front war is pretty much what ruined Hitler's whole thing. The non-aggression pact was probably the best thing Hitler had going for him, and as soon as he broke it, he pretty much doomed himself.

D.) Pearl Harbor: BIG BIG BIG BIG MISTAKE! What SHOULD have happened was, Germany whipe out Britain and force them to surrender, THEN Germany, Italy, and Japan all crush inward on Russia. I'm pretty sure Russia wouldn't be able to hold off against all three of them. Oh well.


And there's my 2 cents,

-Regards

Well, hitler was a poor strategist. As Ive said before, when you are blinded by hatred and irrationality...

Originally Posted by sherman105

Well, hitler was a poor strategist. As Ive said before, when you are blinded by hatred and irrationality...

Yeah, it's sad, all those resources Hitler used to kill Jews could have been used in the war efforts. And of those millions of Jews killed, many probably would have fought for the Germans if Hitler hadn't done anything to them. Many had even fought for Germany in WW1, but were now targets of the Nazis. If Hitler had of just put his hatred towards the Jews aside, there's a few million more soldiers he could have used in WW2...Oh well.

Hitler's a perfect example of what you get for someone who grew up with a terrible childhood, grew up fighting in WW1, and only to come back to a country in the depression. Even as a child he had to have things his way and would through rages when they didn't.

I wonder how things would have played out for Germany had he of gotten accepted into one of the art schools he applied to. :P