Presentation on Bataan Death March

I really was not very familiar with the Bataan Death March.  I knew that POWs suffered disgracefully at the hands of the Japanese, but I did not realize how much.   It seems that Germany was not the only country guilty of slaughtering people as if they were animals.  The troops were already weak from thirst, hunger, and lack of sleep, and then to make them walk 65 miles in the sweltering heat was pure torture.  When I think of World War II, I think more of the battles fought, not this type of retaliation that was so inhumane.  Thousands of lives, Americans and Filipinos, were lost during this march that lasted less than ten days (I believe that it what was said).   

Bataan Presentation

Even after studying WWII both in and out of school I had not heard of Philippine battles or the Bataan Death March.  This horrific situation could even be compared to the  camps in Europe, but this concept has not been brought to my attention before.  Soldiers were unprepared and lacked food and weapons.  Many soldiers who became POWs had little to no chance from the beginning.  There was even anti-American attitudes among the Japanese, but like the European camps the harsh treatment was not directed towards Americans only.  American and Filipino soldiers alike were abused by Japanese when they were captured.  

Feb 18-20: U.S.

Death March Presentation

It was interesting to hear about the death march. I didn't know that the citizens who threw food to the troops also got killed. It seems a little rash to kill that person instead of just taking the food they got and keeping it for themselves. 65 miles is a long way especially in the kind of land that they were on.

Dnipir Plan

The plan to station the largest portion of the Red Army behind the Dnipir River as a reserve force could have saved Russia from Germany. However, would Hitler have been so quick to attack if the German Intel had known how vast the Army really was? If they had been positioned closer to the border, its possible that Stalin's efforts to buy time may have delayed the attack. However, Hitler's confidence that the German attack would undermine the communist control - leading to a mass revolt - may have still led to an invasion, and possibly a quick German victory if the reserve had not existed, and the German Panzer divisions had been able to attack the majority of the Soviet troops at the start of the campaign.

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.

The Phoney War

Interesting that the war was declared in September although Germany did not even attack until April. It baffles me that because of Germany's decision to wait, things worked out in their advantage. I am aware that all the unnessecary cries of "wolf" worked in their advantage, but I do not believe it a valid excuse of the ill preparation for the first attack. With the knowledge of there being an attack in the future, they should have been ready for something to happen. It was pretty obvious that Germany was planning to do something.