Ask me anything about WWII

[WhoIam]

WWII is the only thing I would consider myself close to an expert on. I've read a number of books on the conflict and watched countless shows and documentaries and think I have a good understanding of how everything is interrelated.

I know a lot about:
the Nazi regime as a whole
the western front in Europe

I know a decent amount about:
the eastern front in Europe
the Pacific war involving the US

I don't know much about (but will try to answer questions regarding):
other aspects of the Pacific war (eg Japan's invasions of other asian countries)
minor areas of conflict (like the middle east)

Examples of good questions would be "Why did X power enter the war?" "Why was X successful/unsuccessful" "What lead to X happening?" If your question, would take 10,000 words to answer, please ask something more specific.
I'll also try to answer some "what if" questions if anyone is interested.

I was planning on playing a bunch of poker tonight, but FTP is down so I'll answer questions until it comes back online and when I take breaks, as well as tomorrow. I'm sure there are some other WWII buffs here, so feel free to chime in.

[neuroman]

How would the world be different today if the Axis powers had won?

[Golden_Rhino]

What would have happened if the Germans had taken Stalingrad in a timely manner?

[cobrakai111]

How accurate is Band of Brothers?

Favorite World War II movie that isn't Patton or Saving Private Ryan?

[Howard Treesong]

Why did the Allies invade the mountainous and difficult Italy?

[WhoIam]

[ QUOTE ]
How would the world be different today if the Axis powers had won?

[/ QUOTE ]
We would have better cars and electronics [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Can you be a little more specific? Are we talking total surrender by the allies? Does America get involved? Does for example, England sign a separate peace with Germany after the fall of France? Give me a scenario and I'll run with it.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Who is the more authentic pinup girl? (Hint: Angela Ryan)

[SmileyEH]

My grandpa was an anti-tank driver in the Canadian military. He was in italy during the invasion for something like 3 years but he rarely talks about the experience-understandable I imagine. Can you tell me about the italian campaign and specifically the canadian role if you can as I don't know much about either?

[WhoIam]

[ QUOTE ]
How accurate is Band of Brothers?

Favorite World War II movie that isn't Patton or Saving Private Ryan?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've only seen bits of BoB and obviously didn't fight in WWII so I'm not sure of the accuracy.

My favorite WWII movie would probably be a German movie called "The Bridge." It's about 16 year olds who are drafted into the army in the closing days of the war. I happened to see it when I was 16 and found it very disturbing. The other standout that comes to mind is another German movie "Oberst Reidl." For something slightly more upbeat, there's a movie about a Jewish kid who is sent to an elite aryan school, captured by the Russians, then recaptured by the Germans. It's supposedly based on a true story, though the name escapes me.

[Georgia Avenue]

Who won? Like REALLY?