SurferBoy

class

kporte

I've never seen such a small one

Rugbymatt's bird

Burbage

Is it in yet?

kporte's bird

kporte

Don't tell the wife about her!
Did I diss your fella?

Burbage

What is this diss? Is that English?

He who throws the first rock old bean.

kporte

Hip talk. The language evolves.

I didn't throw any rocks at you though?

Burbage

Hitler concentrated on Poles. Didn't stop Britain and France declaring war on him.

In fairness, the Americans didn't declare war on him. But that was because they were scared.

scottishcelts

I was thinking more along the lines of Rugbymatt's queen.

kporte

But yet without them, we would have lost.

Burbage

Not really. Without them we wouldn't have lost. But Russia would have won.

kporte

Really? Would have been invaded in 1940, when we were on our knees, without lend/lease.
The septics kept our heads above water.

Burbage

Lend lease didn't kick in until after the BOB. Hitler couldn't invade without total air supremacy, since the Royal Navy would have destroyed his invasion fleet. The Russians had already beaten the Germans by the time America fired its first shot in anger. North Africa was won before the Americans arrived there too.

But ensuring that Stalin didn't control Western Europe after tha war. That's what was important about the Americans in the European theatre.

kporte

So you are actually saying that if the Americans never entered the war, we would have won?

Burbage

No. We wouldn't have been invaded. A different thing. Once Hitler opened a front against Russia the possibility of invading England was gone. He couldn't invade anyway due to the Royal Navy and the fact that he hadn't wiped out the RAF. Once Hitler failed to take Moscow, he'd lost the war. All this happened before America entered the fighting.

Lend lease had a major effect on the north African Campaign, but had little effect elsewhere. But North Africa was a sideshow once Russia was invaded.

Of course, without Britain holding out in 1940 Hitler would probably have beaten Russia and America would never have entered the war in Europe, so you could quite successfully argue that the reason Hitler lost WWII was his failure to invade Britain.

kporte

Besides the weather, bad choices and out running the supply lines, the main reason Hitler was not able to press home against the Soviets, was the huge financial aid provided by the Yanks. That and the American and Brit air raids on production in 1942.
The Yanks provided the cash, Brits the time and the Soviets the bodies.
All 3 were crucial.
My original assertion that we would have lost without the Yanks, stands.
Your changed your point from we would not have lost, to, would not be invaded.
You seem to move the goalposts a lot.