Feb 13th presentations

Eben Emael: It was interesting to hear about the Secret Weapons that the Germans developed and used during their attack. Was this a particularly German element of warfare during this period? The hollow charge explosive(or shaped charge) has certainly impacted warfare, it is interesting that the German High Command had such faith in the new technology, that they were willing to use it in the very first major western-front offensive.

Crete: The thing that was most interesting from this presentation was the failure on both sides to predict the opponent's actions. The Allied troops expected a seaborn invasion, and spent much of their effort into trying to prevent an attack from the sea. The Germans failed to realize how much the attack could cost them, and ended up overcommitting their transport aircraft, weakening their ability to win the war. Also interesting is the two sides' different lessons regarding paratroopers. Germany saw their use as done after this battle, considering the losses too costly, while the Americans decided to train their own for use later in the war effort due largely to the success they saw from the German paratroops on Crete.