so what did the british do in ww2 ?

[jimjim]

if the russians absorbed 80% of the german war machine, what % did the british absorb ?, and the americans ? seeing as they didnt join till 41 or 42 whenever it was

when did germany attack russia ? 1941 ? was that the first time they got involved in any of the ww2 conflicts ?

if russia and the US didnt join untill so late, did britian really have a decisive impact for the allies ?

and also the fight against the japanese, the british and australians were fighting land and see battles in asia and the pacific since 42, the pacific fleet alone had 350 ships, no idea how big the fleet around asia was.

so how much of an impact did the british have in that area ?


would just like some hard facts really because too often i find americans saying they won the war in europe and asia/pacific and that the allies owe their victories to the US. obviously i have trouble beleiving this considering the british were the only one of the 3 major allies to even be fighting before 1941. and ofcourse because of the much forgotten pacific fleet and land battles many allies were involved in.

[Traper]

Originally posted by jimjim
if russia and the US didnt join untill so late, did britian really have a decisive impact for the allies ?

Russia started the war in 1939, but in fact, the German invasion on Russia was in 1941.

UK was in a good situation. It could be attaced only by air force, not from land. That's why it was never under German occupation. That enabled to concentrate soldiers from other countries and use them against Germans.
US was much preoccupied by the war with Japan, because this was their real enemy.

[jimjim]

ah now you mention it i remember reading about russia attacking finland. just for the sake of displaying my lack of knowledge......whos side were finland on ? did the soviets start out the war on germanies side then change when germany broke the agreement and attacked them ?

[vorosilov]

Hello Jimjim, Hello Trapper

WW2 was started by Germany when it attacked Poland on Sept 1, 1939.

[akhmetbek]

Originally posted by vorosilov

Hello Jimjim, Hello Trapper

WW2 was started by Germany when it attacked Poland on Sept 1, 1939.

And the USSR attacked Poland a week later.O,I forgot,sorry,Voro,it's a sudden news for you,they don't teach that in commi high school.

[Rain]

I thought it started with Czechoslovakia.

R

[albatros]

Back to the original question. UK efforts in WW II were vital in 2 particular situations early in the war.

Firstly, in 1940 the Germans had overrun continental Europe and planned to invade the UK. To do this with confidence the Germans decided they needed air supremacy over UK skies. The Germans launched a wave assaults bombing fighter airfields and radar stations. The British resisted and eventually regained control over their airspace in the so-called "Battle of Britain". The German invasion of the UK was canceled. This meant that Britain was available in 1944 to launch D-day and retake continental Western Europe. There is no doubt this shortened the duration of the conflict.

Secondly in 1942 in Africa the UK prevented Rommel from over-running Egypt and eventually defeated the Germans at Al Alamein. This eventually lead to a second front in Italy.

In general it is clear however that the US was by far the dominant player in the allied coalition on the western front, particularly in the latter stages of the war.